Simple Courage: A True Story of Peril on the Sea

by Frank Delaney

Book Overview

"HEAVEN HELP THE SAILOR ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS."-old folk prayer In late December 1951, laden with passengers and nearly forty metric tons of cargo, the freighter S.S. Flying Enterprise steamed westward... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400065240
• ISBN13: 9781400065240
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

excellent reading. The cruel sea.

As a sailor and someone who has great respect for the sea I have recommended this book to my Friends and also given away copies to family, whom I would like to read this book and get the experience though the book. The sea can be Cruel and wonderful at different times, I love the Ocean but at the same time Respect it for what it can do. The book leaves you wondering how things could have been done differently and perhaps there was other reasons for what took place, the book leaves you thinking, which is good, I can highly recommend this book. Hans Andersen.

Don't Read This Great Sea Story - LISTEN INSTEAD

I listened to the CD version of Simple Courage. Other reviewers have deducted marks for the book's length and author's personal narrative. None of that mars the audio version. LISTEN to the CD. It's been expertly abridged by Kristin Lesko into a tight, taut, compelling story. Frank Delaney is an absolutely OUTSTANDING reader/narrator (a long prior career at the BBC probably helped). I begrudged every moment it took to eject the finished CDs and spin up the new ones.

Uses historical documents and modern accounts to spice true adventure.

Frank Delaney's SIMPLE COURAGE: A TRUE STORY OF PERIL ON THE SEA tells of a 1951 ship laden with passengers and tons of cargo heading from Europe to America which faced huge waves which about destroyed her. Her captain fought to bring her cargo and passengers safely to port: his courageous story is told on audio for the first time, and uses historical documents and modern accounts to spice true adventure. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Captain Courageous

The world has not long remembered Captain Henrik Kurt Carlsen, but in 1952 he was deservedly one of the most famous men in the world, "The Man of the Year" according to Life magazine and plenty of other listmakers. Frank Delaney, an Irish writer, was nine years old at the time, and one of the connections he had with his difficult father while growing up in Ireland was sharing the world's fascination with Carlsen's peril at sea. Delaney remembers his father uncharacteristically summoning the family to the radio: "There is an incident happening at sea." An incident, indeed, and one that stuck with Delaney for years, finally flowering into the grand account _Simple Courage: A True Story of Peril on the Sea_ (Random House). Delaney's personal interest in the story, as part of his own family's lore, is told in episodes through the book, illustrating how all the world over people were waiting to hear of the fate of Carlsen as he clung to his sinking vessel, so it helps us understand what a sensation the story was at the time. Delaney's book brings the sensation back for our own time. For the voyage of _Flying Enterprise_ at the end of 1951, she had picked up passengers and cargo in various European docks, and was headed to the United States. The master of the ship was Captain Carlsen, a 37-year-old Danish-born American who had two decades of seagoing experience, including 43 Atlantic crossings. He was an impeccable sailor and captain. He had no pretense; everyone who knew him said that he was exactly the sort of straight-arrow he seemed to be. The ship had the ill fortune to be hit not by one but two rogue waves, the first cracking the hull and the second giving it a sixty degree list which shifted the cargo so that she could not right herself. Eventually there were ships that came to the rescue, and although one passenger died in the transfer, all the rest of the crew and passengers jumped, often heroically, into the raging and frigid waters to be dragged to safety. Carlsen ordered everyone off, including those that volunteered to continue to try to save the ship, and then began a solitary stay on the vessel, attempting to find food or a dry place in which to wedge mattresses so he could catch some sleep. A seagoing hero in peril was a great story, and the press ran with it, ensuring that even Delaney's isolated family knew of "Stay-Put Carlsen" or "Captain Courageous." There were those who thought there must be some hidden motive to keep Carlsen aboard in such atrocious conditions, but the truth is, as the title of the book implies, simple: Carlsen knew his duty, he loved his ship, and until there was no hope, he was not leaving. This was the biggest one-man heroism story since Lindbergh. He was honored on his return to England, and when he got to New York, he was given a ticker tape parade. He refused to cash in on his fame; even while he was awaiting rescue, a beer tycoon had arranged for a packet to be dropped to him offering hi

Rare combo of action-packed and life-affirming

The Christian Science Monitor said something like - "Simple Courage made The Perfect Storm look like a paddle in a duck pond". No kidding. This is, perhaps, the most exciting non-fiction book I've ever read. What more can I say? It's exciting, exhilerating, ferocious, frightening, breathtaking -- and ultimately, heartwarming and life affirming. I've been sitting up tonight trying to think about whether I would have had the courage to stick to my guns and do everything in my power to bring a damaged ship to port in the worst storm in history, and here's what I think: it's more than bringing in a ship - the central theme here is whether a man will honor his promise and his word. Obviously Captain Carlsen does this, and along the way his example seems to inspire other people to behave with great courage. From his boss to his crew and passengers, to the captains and crews of the rescue ships and an incredible sailor who jumped from a tug to join him on board this `sinking ship' - there is so much courage jammed into these pages, you cannot help but ask yourself if you would be up for the task. In the end, we read that Carlsen's reason for staying on board is as much about love as duty - but it's very clear that simply doing what's right can actually be heroic. I can't type anymore - I actually have tears in my eyes.